Well, I kind of came up with this idea when watching a movie with my mom. It was called The Life Before Her Eyes, and it was based on a girl that wanted her adult life to begin soon. She and her best friend were in the bathroom and they heard screams. It turned out one of their classmates had brought a gun to school.
This story was created for two reasons. One, because I have such immense writer's block on my stories that I just can't seem to focus on one. So I created this little story. There's only going to be one more chapter, so it's not going to drag on forever like my other stories. The other reason is to honor the students whose lives were lost in situations like this. Rest in peace.
Warning: Mild violence and character death.
"I don't think so, Momo-senpai," Ryoma said, squirting some handsoap out of the container onto his hand. Beside him, Momo groaned in frustration.
"Come on, Echizen! Seriously, I don't know a thing about English, and Mr. Hatake (1) said that if I don't get a 90% or higher on our next exam, I'm going to fail!"
Ryoma smirked, rinsing his hands out in the sink. "Well, I guess that's what you probably deserve for eating in class instead of studying like you were supposed to."
Momo scowled, but it quickly turned into a desperate expression as he leaned forward on the sink's edge and kept his eyes on his kouhai. "Come on, Echizen, I'm begging you. I need to pass this test. Won't you please help me?"
Ryoma pretended to consider it for a moment, purposefully making Momo fidget in impatience for his own pure entertainment. After a long moment had passed, Momo scowled, quickly running out of patience.
"Echizen - "
"Alright, Momo-sempai! If you want, you can come with me to my house after practice and I can help you study there," Ryoma said, as he dried out his hands with the brown paper the bathroom provided. Momo's face broke out into a wide grin.
"Arigatou, Echizen. You're the best," Momo said gratefully, clapping Ryoma on the shoulder.
"And don't I know it," Ryoma muttered quietly. It was loud enough for Momo to hear, for he cocked an eyebrow and said, "Don't be a brat," while grabbing Ryoma by the arm and bringing him close into a headlock, giving him a hard noogie.
"Itai! Momo-sempai, stop that!" Ryoma choked out what he could from the lack of air. Momo chuckled and let go of the younger boy. Ryoma massaged his neck, glaring at his senpai. "You need to control your strength, senpai. That really hurt."
Momo shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Gomen, Echizen. But you asked for it."
Ryoma opened his mouth to say something back, but a sudden noise outside stopped him. Confused, the two boys turned toward the closed bathroom door. There was silence. They turned back around, taking it as nothing, when the same noise sounded again, this time more pronounced.
A scream. Then another. And soon from behind the door, Momo and Ryoma could hear a chorus of terrified screams and shouts. Momo looked over to Ryoma, wide-eyed.
"What going on?" he asked lowly. Ryoma shook his head, meeting Momo's eyes.
"I don't know," Ryoma said, his voice just as quiet. There was silence between the boys as the only noise heard were the screams outside. Ryoma bit his lip, glancing at the door. Then he began walking toward it.
"Echizen, don't!" Momo said in a whispered shout, grabbing Ryoma's arm before he could take another step. Ryoma whipped his head toward Momo, bewildered at the action and his sempai's sudden terror.
"Listen, it's probably just a stupid prank someone's pulling. And I hope the asshole behind it gets caught," Ryoma said, making to move forward.
However, Momo yanking him back, making him collide with his firm chest, and the loud gunshots that filled the air immediately stopped him from doing so.
Momo and Ryoma stared at the door, wide-eyed and frozen. From where Ryoma was positioned (Momo's arms wrapped securely around him and back to Momo's chest), the younger tennis player could feel Momo's heartbeat pick up speed, thudding rapidly. He also felt the contained fear pulsing through the older boy. It seemed to spread through Ryoma's body, too. Momo gulped and let out a shaky exhale, jumping slightly whenever he heard a shriek or numerous rounds of gunshots. "Oh, god," he whispered.
"I-I... I know who it is," Ryoma whispered, his voice barely audible. But by the way Momo tensed behind him, he took it that he had heard. "It's... it's Arai."
Momo let out a disbelieving laugh at the mention of his classmate. "What?" he choked out.
Ryoma nodded, not even bothering to hide the fear he was feeling out of his voice as he said, "Y-Yeah. I-I remember him saying a-a while back that he was- that h-he was going to bring a gun to Seigaku... and that he was going to... that he was going to kill."
Momo's arms tightened around Ryoma. "K-Kill who?"
Ryoma closed his eyes. "Everyone."
There was a pause from Momo. Ryoma opened his eyes warily. And suddenly, he was facing Momo, the other's hands on his upper arms in a bruising grip. He was startled to see Momo glaring at him furiously, yet terrified at the same time.
"And what, you didn't think to tell anyone?" Momo hissed, bringing his face rather close to Ryoma's. Ryoma was at a loss for words, his mouth gaping open, trying to form a sentence. The usually cocky tennis brat with the I-could-care-less attitude was gone, replaced by the scared boy Momo was gripping in his hands that replied with a voice that sounded more like a whimper, "I-I thought he was joking."
Momo cursed under his breath, but didn't say anything harsh to Ryoma again. Ryoma was somewhat relieved to see Momo wasn't angry anymore, but was still frightened to see the horror in his best friend's amethyst eyes.
A short moment of silence passed. But this time, Ryoma noticed something else.
"Do y- Do you hear that?" he asked.
Momo looked up behind Ryoma and shook his head, looking back down at the first year. "No."
Ryoma looked back over his shoulder, and Momo's hands became, if possible, even tighter on his arms. "It's quiet. Maybe they were able to stop him."
But he had spoken too soon. No later than those words had left his lips than footsteps sounded outside, close by.
"Quick, Echizen!" Momo whispered frantically.
And somehow Ryoma found himself swept up in Momo's arms, frozen as Momo hurried toward the only window in the bathroom. He didn't have any time to protest or demand to be put down before Momo hoisted him up, making him level with the window. Ryoma immediately knew what to do, and set to opening the locks on the window as quickly and as quietly as he could. Finally, after the last lock was opened, Ryoma put his hands on the glass, grunting with the effort to lift the stiff window.
"Hurry, Echizen," Momo said, straining with the extra weight of Ryoma.
"I'm trying," Ryoma grunted. Finally, the window popped open, and Ryoma wasted no time lifting it up higher, not caring for the moment about the noise they were making, only that this was their only chance of escaping, or surviving.
"Got it," Ryoma said, and Momo gave a wheeze as he struggled to lift Ryoma higher, enough to help the boy go through the window with no difficulties. Ryoma was about halfway outside when a voice screamed directly outside the door.
"Wait! Please, don't! Please! PLEASE!"
Momo glanced up into Ryoma's panic-striken face. "Mr. Hatake."
Ryoma glanced down. "C'mon, Momo-sempai. We don't have much time."
That got Momo going again, and he hurridly pushed Ryoma through the small opening. Ryoma was thankful that the bathroom was on the first floor, but somewhat underground, so when he came outside he was already on ground level. Breathing heavily, he turned back to the window, reaching toward Momo.
"C'mon, hurry Momo-sempai, please," he said, extending both hands toward Momo. The second year latched his hands tightly around Ryoma's and jumped up slightly, making it a little easier for Ryoma to haul him up. Grunting with tremendous effort, Ryoma backed up, pulling Momo along with him. Momo helped by grabbing onto the sides of the window, and Ryoma took to taking his arms instead.
Thanking the gods above that they had the arm strength tennis players needed, Ryoma was able to pull Momo out of the bathroom and onto the grass. Panting, they wasted no time, but quickly moved out of the way, out of the plain view from the interior of the bathroom and put their backs up against the school's wall. Momo wrapped an arm around Ryoma's trembling form and reached over to the window, closing it and moving away just in time to hear a muffled blast and a thud.
Arai was in the bathroom, where they had been seconds before.
Ryoma could not control his trembling; he was shaking furiously and breathing in short, frightened gasps. Momo's arm only brought him closer to the second year, trying to show comfort in some way. At the same time, Momo was slowly scooting over sideways, away from the window, and pulling Ryoma along with him. Once they were a safe distance away, Momo stood up, grabbing Ryoma's wrist.
"C'mon!" he nearly shouted. Ryoma quickly stood, and the two boys ran around the side of the school toward the front, where they could see the red lights flashing. Once they turned the corner, they were immediately greeted with screams. But this time, they weren't of terror.
"Don't move!"
They were faced with a few officers pointing their handguns toward them. On instinct, Ryoma and Momo put their hands up, showing no signs of harm. "Please!" Momo shouted. "The shooter! He's... He's in the bathroom. Boy's. It's on the east wall, on ground level. We just - just got out of there."
The officers lowered their weapons and ran toward the direction that Momo had said, and the paramedics immediately rushed forward, ushering them toward the ambulences. Their protests and countless "I'm alright! I don't need medical help," fell upon deaf ears, and pretty soon they were surrounded by people checking them over, insisting on them going to the hospital.
And finally, when they were able to convince the paramedics that they were fine and won in the shouting match that decided whether they needed to go to the hospital, Momo and Ryoma walked around, searching for any of their other friends. Ryoma tried not to gag at the sight of students laying on the grass and sidewalk, some alright and unharmed, some not so lucky. Children were covered in blood, choking in it, losing it. Some kids looked lifeless, some kids were lifeless, their eyes glazed over in the sunlight, never seeing again...
Ryoma let out a small distressed noise from the back of his throat, dreading that they would see one of the Regulars or maybe Coach Ryuuzaki laying around, hurt. Or worse, dead. Momo once again wrapped an arm around his best friend's shoulder and pulled him close, steering him away from the bodies. Ryoma leaned somewhat into the embrace, glad for the comfort. They continued their search for their friends.
Fortunately, their friends found them.
"MOMO! ECHIZEN!"
They stopped in their tracks to see Oishi, Kawamura, Tezuka, and Inui running toward them. Relief flooded through them; at least they knew that they were alright.
"Thank goodness! You're alright!" Oishi said as soon as they reached them.
There was a wide cut on Oishi's temple, not really deep but still oozing out a little amount of blood. Tezuka and Inui looked windswept, but otherwise unharmed. It was Kawamura that had Momo and Ryoma gaping.
"Senpai," Ryoma said, horrified. "W-What happened to you?"
Kawamura's shirt was practically drenched with blood. Kawamura looked down at his attire, and glanced back up. Nobody missed the tears that filled the power player's eyes.
"This isn't my blood."
Momo's eyes widened even further. "What do you mean?" he asked. Ryoma listened intently, alreadly having a good idea of what happened. Dread filled him.
Kawamura looked down at his shirt. "I... I wasn't even supposed to survive. I mean, I know I did, but still... Arai was came in. Killed our sensei first. Then started to shoot bullets at everyone else. I threw myself on the floor when he shot the first round. I stayed still, hoping he would think me as dead and leave. But then I saw my classmate Yuumi lying there. He was already dead, and there was blood pooling underneath him. I knew that I wouldn't be able to pass of as dead with just me lying there, so I-I moved over slowly and lay down on his blood. Arai came over and I lay still. I could feel him staring down at me, waiting. And finally, he left."
Kawamura looked up, and this time, he didn't try to hide the tears running down his face. Hastily, he reached up and wiped his eyes slowly. "I could've died in there. And it was sheer stupid luck that I got out of there alive."
"Hey, Taka-san," Oishi said, putting a hand on Kawamura's shoulder. "You're alive. That's all that matters." Kawamura nodded, offering a watery smile.
"Oishi-sempai," Ryoma said. Oishi faced him. "What happened to the others? Fuji-sempai, Kikumaru-sempai, and Kaidoh-sempai?"
Something flashed through Oishi's eyes, but it was gone again as he blinked and stared at Ryoma with worried eyes. Oishi sighed. "Well, Fuji and Eiji are going to be alright - "
"What happened?" Momo asked immediately.
"Fuji had taken a bullet to the arm," Inui spoke up. Momo and Ryoma turned toward him. "Just a graze, so it wasn't anything serious. They already patched him up. He's over there," Inui said, pointing toward an ambulence. Ryoma looked over and saw that indeed Fuji was sitting on the edge of the back of an ambulence, staring down at the ground, a bandage wrapped tightly around his arm.
"So he's alright?" Ryoma said, looking away from the distressed Fuji.
Inui nodded. "He's going to be alright," he said. Oishi closed his eyes.
"And Eiji..." Oishi said, trailing. Ryoma and Momo stared at him, feeling their fear mounting higher with every second Oishi was silent. Finally, Oishi looked up. "Eiji was hurt pretty bad," he said. Momo and Ryoma both opened their mouths to demand what had happened, but they were stopped by Tezuka, who said sharply, "Let him speak."
The two obeyed, waiting with slight impatience. Oishi smiled gratefully at Tezuka before continuing. "He was with Fuji, and they had been walking down the hall when he entered their classroom. They rushed to see what was going on, and saw Arai shooting. Arai turned, saw them, and aimed. They wasted no time and quickly tried to run back the way they came. But Arai fired before they could take a few steps, and got Eiji on the right side of his back."
If Momo and Ryoma had wanted to say something before, they couldn't now. Oishi's speech had thrown every question and thought out of their minds. Eiji was shot? Ryoma pictured the smiling redhead, jumping and laughing, and thought, Why would anyone try to kill someone like that?
"He was taken away to the hospital just a while ago. He lost a lot of blood, but a paramedic said that he was going to be alright after being treated," Oishi finished.
"Oishi-sempai, please," Momo said, looking up. "What about Mamushii? You never said anything about him."
Ryoma stared. The flash of emotion that had crossed Oishi's face returned, but this time it stayed there. And Ryoma felt a feeling of ice-cold horror start from his chest and flood throughout his numb body. He watched as Oishi's eyes filled to the brim with tears.
"Oishi-sempai..."
Oishi blinked, and the emotion left his face once again. "Kaidoh... h-he didn't make it."
The tears fell.
I really hate myself for doing those things to the Regulars, especially Eiji, Fuji and Kaidoh. I can't believe I was so heartless to kill Kaidoh off! I know that you must hate me for this. Believe me, I have no idea what came over me. But seriously, it would've been more realistic if some got hurt and at least one got killed than if it was like every other story and no one got hurt. So please forgive me for killing our favorite Mamushii.
(1) I was thinking that if the sensei was teaching English, he would've liked the students to practice more by saying his name in the English way, by saying Mr. Hatake instead of Hatake-sensei. See?
Please review!